The present invention relates to a device for use with a support for goods which are to stand in rows on the shelves of a shop or store-room, in particular such goods as are arranged in compartments formed by transverse dividers, which support comprises a track provided with sawtooth racks and a support device that can be moved along the track, which support device has a bottom plate and a support back projecting upward from the bottom plate.
Supports of this kind are used, for example, for supporting products packed in sachets, small boxes or packages. In order to make it easy for the consumer to take hold of the first package in a row, the row of packages should be kept to the front edge of the shelf. This requires among other things the row of packages to be supported by a support back which can easily be moved in the appropriate compartment. The support is moved forward as the goods are removed, but must then be able to be returned to a position toward the back of the shelf for replenishing goods in the compartment.
Known support devices are available for this purpose, comprising a track provided with a sawtooth rack which is arranged in the compartment and interacts with a support device that can be moved along the track, which support device has projections engaging with the sawtooth rack on the track and a support back projecting upward from the bottom plate. A problem with certain known devices of this kind has been that the support device can be moved backward in the compartment unintentionally by the application of a force to the vertical support back.
In order to eliminate this problem, devices have previously been proposed in which the risk of such unintentional movement is eliminated. This has, however, meant that the devices have become more complicated to use, as an intentional movement of the support device has also been made more difficult. In some embodiments, such a movement requires the whole support device to be pivoted forward before it can be moved. This means, however, that products standing on the support device must also be tipped forward.
Another device utilizes a spring element which engages with the sawtooth rack on the track. The engagement of the spring element with the track must be released manually to permit an intentional movement of the support device. As the spring element is located at the back of the support device, there must be room to reach beside or above the support device, which is not always the case. Our international patent application PCT/SE00/00324 describes a support of the type described above, in which the risk of unintentional movement of the support in a backward direction has been eliminated, while at the same time a required movement can be carried out in a very simple way.
The previous support is of the type described in the first paragraph and is characterized in that the support device is provided with backward-projecting elements which engage and lock with the sawtooth racks on the track when a backward force is applied to the support back and in that the said locking elements are arranged to be lifted up out of engagement with the said sawtooth racks when a backward force is applied to a front part of the bottom plate of the support device, which force causes the bottom plate to pivot upward around a transverse axis at its front end as a result of the interaction between the bottom plate and the sawtooth racks on the said track, raising the back part and the said locking elements.
This device thus effectively prevents an unintentional movement of the support device backward as a result of a force on the support back and at the same time makes it easy to move it intentionally by the application of a force to the bottom plate of the support device, which force brings about a small pivoting movement of the support device and also the required backward movement.
The support device described above can easily be moved forward by applying a force on the rear of the support back by hand. In many cases, this can be difficult to carry out, as there can be no room to reach behind the support device due to the positions of the shelf above and the side dividers.
In the device described above, this is solved by an elongated operating tool being able to be inserted under the bottom plate of the support device from the front end of the track, which tool lifts the device thereby releasing the engagement of the said locking elements with the sawtooth racks on the track and also the engagement between the projections on the bottom plate and the said sawtooth racks, after which the support device can be moved forward or backward using the said operating tool.
By using an elongated operating tool in this way, the support device can be operated from the front of the compartment without needing to reach the back of the vertical support back. This is a great advantage when the compartments are narrow and when there is only a small distance between the shelf and the one above.
The device described above is thus based on the person who is going to operate the support for goods carries a tool of the type described above, which tool is temporarily inserted into the compartment where the support back is to be moved. It cannot, however, be left in place, as it would then protrude out from the shelf.
The main object of the present invention is to obtain a device for moving supports for goods as described above, which can be permanently inserted in a compartment for goods, so that it is always in place when the support for goods and the goods supported by this are to be pulled forward toward the front of the respective compartment.
This is obtained according to the present invention by means of a device of the kind defined in the first paragraph, which is characterized in that the track provided with sawtooth racks is stationary, in that the bottom plate of the support device forms a supporting surface for goods and is arranged to be guided by the said tracks when it is moved, and in that to bring about movement toward the front edge of a shelf it is moved relative to the teeth on the track, in that the device further comprises an elongated operating tool of essentially the same length as the said track, arranged under the bottom plate of the support device and in a recess in the track provided with sawtooth racks in such a way that it can be pulled out, and in that the operating tool is designed with means projecting upward from it and designed to interact with the said bottom plate of the support device when the operating tool is pulled out in order to bring this forward by means of a forward movement of the operating tool.
This operating tool can thus always remain in place and is simple to use and can be so designed that it automatically raises up the bottom plate, along with the goods standing on the bottom plate, when it is pulled forward. When the movement of the support device has been completed, the operating tool can be pushed right back into the compartment, whereupon the support device returns to the initial position with the locking elements engaging with the sawtooth racks on the track.
The operating tool is preferably designed with two projecting lugs, one of which is arranged to interact with a rear part of the bottom plate, while the other is arranged to interact with a part projecting downward from the front part of the bottom plate. One of these lugs is thereby arranged so that it also acts as a dog means.
In a preferred embodiment, the distance between these lugs is the same as the distance between the front and back parts of the bottom plate, which means that a simultaneous raising of the whole bottom plate is achieved when the operating tool is pulled forward.
Further characteristics of the invention will be apparent from the patent claims.
The invention will be described in greater detail below, utilizing examples of preferred embodiments and with reference to the attached figures.